It has become conventional to provide snow vehicles, of the type commonly referred to as snowmobiles, with a pair of parallel, laterally spaced, steerable skis which are mounted at the forward end of the vehicles. Skis have conventionally been provided with longitudinally extending leaf springs that function in a ride cushioning capacity as the vehicles traverse irregular terrain. The relative stiffness of the leaf springs and their rate of deflection directly affects and determines the ride characteristics of the vehicle, and the manner in which the springs undergo compression and rebound from shock loads affects not only the ride but also the steerability and control of the vehicles in use. By virtue of the fact that snowmobiles are designed and intended to travel cross country over relatively rough terrain, frequently at high speeds, it has been the practice to employ relatively stiff, high rate springs in order to absorb large impact stresses and prevent overstressing the springs under high shock loads. Unfortunately, the use of such relatively stiff springs does not enhance the riding characteristics of snowmobiles and, in fact, has been known to be a factor in occasional loss of control thereof. An additional undesirable characteristic of such leaf springs is that under certain conditions of use, harmonic vibrations develop which result in a rhythmic, pulsating up and down movement of the skis, a phenomena that usually produces a hard, jolting ride and substantially reduces the speed of the vehicles.
In order to overcome the aforementioned undesirable characteristics resulting from the use of leaf springs in snowmobile suspensions, it has heretofore been proposed to provide such leaf springs with direct acting telescopic shock absorbers that function to dampen impact forces against the skis, as well as the resultant rebound, so that there is less tendency for an obstruction to "throw" the vehicle or for harmonic vibrations or motions to develop. As a result, better steering and more controlled ride has been achieved. One objection, however, has arisen from the use of such shock absorbers and this resides primarily in the fact that in order to mount the shock absorbers on the leaf springs, it has been necessary to design specialized mounting brackets which are frequently difficult to install and, to some extent, result in a duplication of manufactured parts since certain shock absorber attachment brackets may be combined with the conventional mounting or saddle brackets of the leaf spring, while in other instances, completely different type brackets or other mounting or attachment means must be employed in order to operatively secure the shock absorbers in place.